No pitchforks here!

Guest blogger Michelle Pardy shares the story behind making a ‘Day in the Life’ film about Barooga farmer, John Bruce.

What do you think of when you hear the word ‘farmer’? Do you imagine a bearded old man with a rusted tractor, a big hat and no teeth? Somebody who’s always got something to grumble about? Or do you think of tractor-driving diesel heads, slashing and burning?

Or maybe at the other extreme, you picture an idyllic way of life in the countryside, surrounded by adorable animals. As so often happens though, the truth is a long way removed from what most of us imagine.

It would be a bit of an understatement to say that agriculture has an image problem, particularly in the cities. But it’s really not all doom and gloom. There’s a whole unheralded section of the farming community who are educated and tech-savvy, who are community and environmentally-minded and who are constantly adapting to meet an ever-changing business and environmental climate. There are people who love their job and their way of life and hope that their children might one day want to follow in their footsteps.

So this is where we introduce our ABC Open ‘Day in the Life’ film about John Bruce (“JB”). He farms with his wife Sarah and young daughter Lexie near Barooga on the Vic/NSW border. JB and Sarah are young, educated and forward-thinking. They are extremely passionate about farming and their family and they still find the time to be involved in their local community. Their story is not unusual, but at the same time, it’s not often told outside of the regional press. We hope you enjoy the insight.

BackgroundI’m a committee member for Riverine Plains Inc, which is a not-for-profit association of about 300 farming families who are interested in research and sharing ideas about crop farming around the Yarrawonga/Corowa region. For a long time, we’d wanted to create something to help change perceptions about farming. Someone pointed out at a committee meeting that a Google image search of ‘farmer’ brings up mostly images of a man (with or without bucked-tooth simple son), wearing bib ’n brace overalls, gumboots and carrying a pitchfork!

Obviously, as farmers, we felt that this doesn’t quite represent what we do or who we are as a community and we decided to do something to change it. It was a case of the 'If not you, then who?’ principle. So I got together with fellow committee members Fiona Hart and Sarah Bruce and we co-opted JB to be the star! With the help of Suzi Taylor, the film began to take shape.

Telling this story was really important to us because many of the crop farmers we know and work with (like JB) are changing their practices and using technology to make the most of their limited resources. Crop farmers are farming with less (reliable) rainfall and as a result, are changing their systems to capture more water during the growing season. They are doing this by keeping more stubble (which is also good for erosion control and soil health) and they're increasing their use of GPS and precision-planting technologies (which reduces fuel use, makes more strategic use of fertiliser and reduces the amount they have to burn).

Most farmers genuinely love their work and their land. As JB says, ‘It’s in the blood!’ Most farmers are making these changes so that they, and their families (and their communities) can have a future that's both environmentally and financially sustainable.

If you’re a farmer, we’d love to hear your experiences. How has technology changed the way you farm? (No mention of brand names please, it’s the ABC!)

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Comments

Richard Wilton

Jeanette Wilson

Ray Stephens

Growing up in the city and now living in the North East with my family, stories like yours provide a great insight and inspiration. Hope the crop goes well.

Elizabeth Taylor

Excellent filming. He seems to be one contented farmer and fortunate to have fantastic machinery to assist good management of crops. Loved the sheep, lambs, alpacas not forgetting the gorgeous dog and toddler. Just to balance this story, I would have liked to have heard from Sarah. Liz

Elizabeth Taylor

Good filming . A contented farmer. Loved the sheep, lambs and alpaccas. What a diverse farm he runs . A little snippet about Sarah would have put balance to an enjoyable story.

Bernie Carroll

Really enjoyed this video, thought the camera work was excellent.. Well done film makers! Technology has certainly helped us farmers become more efficient, productive and profitable (if only!!). I just can't imagine trying to operate our dairy farm without the internet and all the other electronic gadgets of this day and age.

Helen Reynolds

Great video! Well done.

Cookie

Why didn't we here from Sarah?? I'm sure you don't make all the decisions JB! Otherwise a great job guys.

Bernice Pardy

The future of Australian Agriculture is in very good hands.Congratulations to all concerned

David Petersen

Fantastic, positive look at farming. The general mass. media could do well to learn from this.......

Evan Ryan

Terrific job! Best video story on a farm I have seen in a long time. Well done

Kristy Howard

Great story - love seeing someone promoting the positive side to farming!

Janette

Great work!! Love the video. A great way to 'educate' the many people who feel farming is not an 'educated' practice. We have learnt over the years just how strategic and innovative farming has become through Michelle and her family. Thanks for opening the eyes of many (hopefully!!).

Tim Johnston

Great vid guys, entertaining and informative, lets hope for some good rains!